WELL WOMAN GYNECOLOGY AND FAMILY PLANNING SERVICES

…The health of your unborn children begins with you.

If you’re like many women, your annual gynecological exam and pap smear can be frustrating and humiliating. You wait for the doctor wearing a paper gown in a cold room. The metal stirrups are awkward, and his exam is painful. Plus, you’ve been waiting all year to ask your doctor that burning question, but he is so harried, you hardly get the words out before he’s pulled out the speculum and is out the door.

Now imagine a visit with a midwife or nurse-practitioner. Her office is pleasant and inviting, her welcoming smile puts you at ease. Her exam is so gentle, before you realize it, it’s over. Her professional and warm manner makes you feel safe and respected. Your midwife or nurse-practitioner has plenty of time to answer your questions. She explains your options for birth control and family planning, she teaches you how to give yourself a breast exam, and encourages you to get to know your own body. You don’t feel at all embarrassed or shy. She encourages you to make informed decisions about your sexual health. You leave her office feeling empowered!

If you are planning on becoming pregnant soon, and would like to have a midwife-assisted birth, you can build rapport with a midwife beforehand. If you’ve recently given birth and need a family planning method, consider getting your next birth control consultation from a midwife or nurse-practitioner. Why not try one of these special ladies…

Shelly Girard, LM, CPM, MPH – Offers well-woman gynecology services including annual exams, pap smears, family planning services and preconception counseling.With a focus on wholistic health care, her areas of expertise include nutrition, herbology and exercise physiology. Shelly is one of the most experienced homebirth midwives in Los Angeles, having delivered over 4500 babies. Since 1972, Shelly has been offering well-woman gynecology, prenatal care and childbirth at home. Insurance billing available. She is licensed by the State of California and is a Certified Professional Midwife accredited by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM), and earned her Master’s Degree in Public Health from UCLA.

Seannie Gibson, LM, CPM-trained as an apprentice with Shelly Girard, then she received her midwifery license in 2002. Seannie provides well-woman gynecology and family planning services and prenatal care and homebirth midwifery services. She also offers monitrice/enhanced doula services for hospital birth. Seannie is the mother of three home-born children.